What happened: China is now testing facial recognition for those traveling through the newly built Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge with valid citizen ID. The practice hopes to bring an AI and information driven border clearance requiring finger prints and facial images. Intellifusion, the supplier company of the technology, says they are now deploying high-resolution cameras, fingerprint matching and thermal-scanning technology at the border control in Zhuhai. The company also claims that the equipment they provide can complete clearance in a second with a 99.5% accuracy.

Why it’s important: The action signals that China’s state-backed high-tech personal data identification and automatic clearance are formally entering custom control. This implies China’s confidence in the technology and massive data the government is holding at the moment, considering high opportunity cost an error would lead to. Prior to this, China has managed to allow automatic non-facial clearance at Hong Kong and Macau’s border control by allowing a resident’s travelling ID card and fingerprints check.